New York City Mayor Eric Adams responded to rumors Friday that he is set to drop out of the city’s mayoral race and take a job in the Trump administration.
Adams recommitted to the race, but left the door open to join the administration.
“Serving New Yorkers as their mayor is the only job I’ve ever wanted,” Adams said in a statement. “I’m proud of the progress we made lowering crime, improving schools, building housing, and cutting costs for working families — and I remain the best person to lead this city forward.”
“While I will always listen if called to serve our country, no formal offers have been made. I am still running for reelection, and my full focus is on the safety and quality of life of every New Yorker,” he added.
The Trump administration is reportedly planning on nominating Adams to be the ambassador to Saudi Arabia in order to end his unlikely bid for reelection, according to the New York Times. President Donald Trump reportedly believes former Gov. Andrew Cuomo is the best candidate to face off against Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, who is favored to win the November election.
Mamdani gathered a progressive movement with his free bus and childcare promises and upended Cuomo’s bid to be the Democratic nominee in June despite the former governor leading in the polls most of the way.
With the city hosting mostly Democratic voters, Mamdani has led in the polls for the general election and likely has the best chance to win. Adams, Cuomo, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa are currently running against Mamdani, and in the current candidate configuration, are likely to split the vote.
If Adams and Sliwa drop out, which the Trump administration has allegedly tried to make happen, Cuomo would have a much better shot to beat Mamdani. It still isn’t clear how close the race would be in that scenario.
Sliwa has been resistant to any calls for him to drop out of the race. “I’m in this race to win it,” he wrote on social media Thursday. “I love New York City too much to walk away, and I’ll never abandon it. Thank you to New Yorkers for the outpouring of support. The momentum is on our side and together we’re going to take this city back.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY), who will be in heavy correspondence with whoever the next mayor of the city is, has been dismayed by the Adams news.
CRIME IN US CITIES AS TRUMP AIMS TO EXPAND CRACKDOWN: LATEST COVERAGE
“Contrary to what the president thinks, he’s not a king. He’s not a kingmaker,” she said. “He should not be anointing the next mayor of New York City… no one should be accepting that assistance.”
She added in later remarks to Politico, “What’s happening with the mayor? We’re not selling out our f*cking city.”
